The National Centre for Research and Development

23.03.2023

The National Centre for Research and Development has selected 10 startups that will take part in the acceleration in the State of Nevada. The last weeks have been very intense. Innovators participated in workshops and presentations to convince Polish and American jury to their solutions. They now stand a great chance to succeed on the American and global market.

NCBR-NAP acceleration activity aims to enable the commencement of a long-term cooperation between companies and institutions from Poland and the State of Nevada in various areas of innovation, such as medicine, education, and innovative agriculture. This is to contribute to the commercialization of technological solutions offered and supporting cooperative forms of R&D activity.

The presentations of the program participants were subject to evaluation. The Evaluation Committee gave each entity points in accordance with the activity regulations. The ten top-rated startups were recommended to participate in the acceleration process in the State of Nevada. These are they: Farada Group, LabAir, Hashiona, Lume Label, GeniusCare, Atmesys, UV CAST, Typly, ScramJet, Reality Unit.

The above companies offer a variety of solutions and products, such as: UAV systems transporting e.g. medical samples, an application supporting people suffering from Hashimoto's disease, an innovative waste sorter based on its chemical composition, AI-based physiotherapy, sensor-based predictive analysis, synthetic ultra-light plaster cast, cured by UV light, machine sentence generator, next-generation cloud computing services or skill-based computer and video games.

A strong dose of knowledge

March 2023 was a crucial time of NCBR-NAP and culminated with the selection of startups that will take part in the acceleration in Nevada. Bootcamp Warsaw was held on 20-22 March in Warsaw . It consisted of a series of intensive workshops, group work, expert consultations and discussions for startups. During three days of meetings with experts from Poland and the USA, the companies also got to know the offer and specificity of the State of Nevada.

This dose of knowledge was to be used by startups to prepare their speeches during Demo Day, which took place the day after, on 23 March.

- I am very happy that in this year’s edition of NCBR-NAP a significant number of companies are represented by women, while the participants come literally from all over Poland. From Suwałki, Białystok and Olsztyn, Lubartów and Lublin, through Warsaw, Łódź, Wieluń and Wrocław to Chorzów, Poznań, Mielec and Stalowa Wola. Ten entities will have the chance to take part in the acceleration process in Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada. But who it will be will be decided by your speeches and presentations today - said Agnieszka Ratajczak, Director of the International Cooperation Office at the NCRD during the opening of Demo Day. – During Bootcamp Warsaw you learned how best to promote and sell your innovative product or service on the American market. How to attract a foreign investor, how to register a company in the US, how to meet the requirements of a US customer and meet the challenge of starting a business in Nevada. Now is the time to test your skills in practice and try your luck in the Silver State, as Nevada is called. I wish you every success, because there is a great opportunity ahead of you - she added.

Time for a good self-presentation

During the Demo Day, each entity had only 3 minutes to present in a concise but convincing elevator pitch format, followed by a 5-minute-long Q&A session. The following startups performed: LabAir Sp. z o.o., GeniusCare sp. z o.o., Fallen Leaf S.A., Farada Group sp. z o.o., UV Cast sp. z o. o., Mastectomic Sp. z o.o., 3PK sp. z o.o., Scramjet Sp. z o.o., Lume Label Sp. z o.o., Rankode Sp. z o.o., Get Vision sp. z o.o., Reality Unit Sp. z o.o., Atmesys Sp. z o.o., Panamint Sp. z o.o., UXMINING Sp. z o.o., Staffly Sp. z o.o., Typly Sp. z o.o., Hashiona Sp. z o. o. and UltronAR Sp z o.o. It was these presentations that ultimately determined the selection of the winners of the 2nd edition of NCBR-NAP.

The acceleration process itself will take almost a week, and its framework program will be tailored to the profile of startups selected. The acceleration will include tailor-made support of mentors as well as organisation of B2B meetings with Nevadan companies, universities and economic institutions.

The phenomenon of Polish-Nevada cooperation

The Nevada side, represented during Bootcamp Warsaw and Demo Day by mentors from Granite Landings LLC, is responsible for the acceleration process in the US. Also present at the Bootcamp and Demo Day was Paweł Pietrasieński PhD Hab., Professor at  SGH Warsaw School of Economics who is the Proxy of the Rector of Warsaw School of Economics for cooperation with Nevada.

- NCBR-Nevada Acceleration Program is the first project of this type implemented on the basis of the Memorandum of Cooperation between Poland and Nevada. It is also the only acceleration program between the Republic of Poland and the USA, which is addressed to companies from all over Poland. – Professor Pietrasieński said. - The special value of this project is the carefully selected mentoring support for Polish companies which is to help them successfully enter the American, and what we are counting on together with NCBR, also global market. – he added.

Demo Day participants learned that the concept of this multi-phase acceleration activity is based on the concept developed at the Warsaw School of Economics by Prof. Pietrasieński, the so-called 4C model.

– This model consists of: competitive nature of the recruitment process (Competitive admission); grouping participants in cohorts (Cohorts of scaleups), the cyclical nature of the project (Cyclical program) and the fourth "C" or "Customer development" - this term well known in the San Francisco Bay means developing or even creating a market for promoted products or solutions - Prof. Pietrasieński explained.

The phenomenon of Nevada's cooperation with Poland is an example of success not only in the regional dimension. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, only in 2022 and only in organized groups over 200 Polish companies visited Nevada. Joint research projects are being carried out, inter alia, between the Warsaw School of Economics and the University of Nevada in Reno, and thanks to the active support on the part of NCBR, they are to invoke the exchange of nearly a hundred researchers and students on both sides.

More about NCBR-NAP acceleration activity

The pilot edition of NCBR-NAP acceleration activity was launched by NCBR in 2020. The aim of this activity is to connect the innovative ecosystems of Poland and the State of Nevada through the acceleration of young technology companies registered in Poland on the American market, selected in a competitive procedure, using the experience of mentors from the State of Nevada and related institutions. The year 2023 sees another edition of NCBR-NAP, while the recruitment for the 2024 one is already planned for Q4 2023.

More on NCBR-NAP 2023 edition (in Polish) can be found at: https://www.gov.pl/web/ncbr/inne-inicjatyw